The Nile plays an important
part in Egyptian mythology. The creatures that lived along the river
became linked with many gods and goddesses. Although each area
had its preferred protective god or goddess, the story of creation was essentially
the same - Re arose from the ocean of chaos, created Shu and Tefnut
who gave birth to Geb and Nut who gave birth to Osiris and Isis, Set and
Nepthys. The following provides a brief description and illustrations
of the "Ennead of Great Gods" and others mentioned in the journal.

Amun
became the supreme god and was one of a triad of divinities worshipped In
Thebes (Luxor) during its rise to power in the new kingdom. The name translates
as "that which is hidden (or not seen)". The god could
assume both masculine and feminine forms.

Anubisis shown as a jackal headed god. He conducted the dead into
the other world and guarded their tombs, invented the funeral rituals and
embalmed Osiris. He was the patron of embalmers and
known as the "Lord of the Mummy Wrappings".

Atumwas the first local god of Heliopolis, and as a counterpart to
Re, he personified the sun from sundown to sunrise. His name comes
from a root which means 'not to be' and 'to be complete'. He is always
represented with a man's head, wearing the double crown of the Pharaohs.
Unmarried, Atum was supposed to have fathered the first divine couple without
the aid of a wife.

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Bastet(Bast) is shown as a woman with
a cat's head. She was considered the embodiment of joy, the daughter
of Re and goddess of the delta - the cat symbolized fertility and strength.
(Bast protected Re from the snake-god Apep.)

Bes
was always depicted as a strangely mutated dwarf. He was the patron
god of childbirth.

Gebwas the Earth god and often shown with his wife, Nut.
A goose (the symbol of his name) sometimes is sitting on his head.
He was considered to be the father of the Osirian gods.

Hapi
was the "spirit of the Nile" and the rising waters of the Nun
(source of all life).

Hathor
represents the wife and consort of Horus, goddess of joy and music when
she appears in the form of a cow (her sacred animal). She lives in the tree
of heaven and in her incarnation as Isis she tended peoples souls so it
is said that from the time a baby is born she knew what will happen in the
course of its entire life.

Horus
the "Sun God" was the mythical first pharaoh, son of Isis
and Osiris. As a solar god he was represented as falcon
headed god. His hieroglyph (a falcon on a perch) stands for the idea of
god. His incarnation may be as Haroeris (Horus the Great, son of Re and
brother of Set), Behdety (in the form of a winged
solar disk), Harakhtes (Horus who is on the horizon) refers to his daily
travel from east to west, and as Harmakhis he personifies resurrection.

Isis
was the consort of Osiris and considered the ideal
woman, wife, and mother. (She was later worshipped all over the Roman world.)
She is called the great enchantress because she has magic powers,
is the goddess of medicine, and taught the people how to farm.

Khepri
(Khepera) is the scarab headed god personified by the rising sun and was
the god of transformation. His name means beetle and "he who becomes"
because it was believed that beetles renewed themselves (they arise
from their own substance and are reborn of themselves).

Khnum,
the ram headed god was the creator of life who fashioned mankind on his
potter's wheel. He endowed individuals with the "Ka"
or spirit.

Ma'atwas the goddess of universal order and harmony, depicted with a feather
on her head. As the goddess of truth and justice, she weighed the heart
of the dead against her feather.

Min
was the god of fertility always represented with an erect phallus, his right
arm bent and holding a whip.

Mut
was the primary goddess protector of Thebes (Luxor). She was also
the consort of Amun.

Nekhbetwas the vulture goddess and protectress of Upper Egypt. (Wadjet is her
counterpart in Lower Egypt.)

Nepthys
was called the "sister of Isis" (who was sister
to Osiris, Horus and Set).
She was particularly known for taking part in the ritual protection and
resurrection of Osiris, after he was murdered by his brother Set.

Nun
is chaos, the primordial ocean of creation, the beginning of all plants
and animals. Called the 'Father of the Gods,' he was mostly an intellectual
concept with no temples or worshippers. He is often shown standing in water
and holding the gods he created along his arms.

Nut
embodied the sky. As wife of Geb, she was mother to Re
and would swallow the solar disk every evening and give birth to it each
morning. In one of the creation tales, she and Geb were one until Shu
split them apart. Geb became Earth and she became Sky. Known
as the mother goddess she gave birth to Isis, Osiris,
Horus, Set and Nephthys.

Osiris
was originally the nature god who protected the spirit of plants from harvest
until spring growth. After being murdered and cut into pieces by his brother
Set, being rescued by Nepthys,
put back together by Isis and fathering Horus,
he became regent of the World of the Dead.

Ptahwas the patron god of Memphis where he was believed to be the creator
of all things. He began as a thought and eventually became solid so that
he could create all the gods and goddesses.

Re (Ra)
was the sun god associated with Horus
who often assumed the form of a falcon. His name is interpreted as meaning
'creator', the sun, or lord of the sky. He "created" the "eight
Great Gods" - according to the story, he was known as Atum
while in the chaos of Nun. When he transformed
in to Re, he created Shu and Tefnut
who gave birth to Geb and Nut who
gave birth to Osiris and Isis,
Set and Nepthys.
All creatures were created by Re's tears. When he became old, it was said
that Re ended the warring between neighbors along the Nile because he did
not want mankind to perish.

Sekhmetis the warlike lion headed goddess who unleashes her anger in the last
five days of the year. As the Mighty One she destroys the enemies of Re
and defends the divine order of things. She is also depicted with a crocodile
head or as the eye of Re (a burning sun).

Set
(Seth) was the brother of Osiris
and personification of the spirit of evil, in eternal opposition to the
spirit of god. He was forceful and careless and is often shown as a hippopotamus
like man (his war image) or a a normal man with white skin and red hair.

Shu
supports the sky and is god of the air. His name, literally means "to
raise" or hold up and he is represented in human form with an ostrich
feather (the ideogram for his name) on his head.

Sobek,
the crocodile god is symbol of fertility and creator. His temple
in Kom Ombo was famed for its medical knowledge and was a significant
stop on the Nile for those in need of surgical assistance, psychiatric
and obstetric care.

Taweret
(Tauret) was called "the Great One".
Sheis the hippopotamus goddess of childbirth, mothers and
children. Her hippopotamus body has a crocodile's tail, lion's legs
and woman's breasts. It is her duty to protect pregnant women.

Tefnut
is the goddess of moisture, rain, and dew and is considered to be the
symbol of creation and female side of Shu. She protected
her father (Re) and pharaohs so was usually seen
with the Aten on her lion's head.

Toth/Thoth
was the god of wisdom and knowledge, patron of scribes, and recorder of
the Judgement of the Dead. He is alternately shown in human form with the
head of an ibis (as keeper of the divine archives) or as a dog headed ape.
He was commonly known as a moon god.